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Mission & History

The Alexandria Museum of Art has promoted understanding and appreciation of art through four decades of exhibitions and educational outreach programs. The Mission of the Alexandria Museum of art is to foster a culturally rich community by engaging, enlightening and inspiring individuals through innovative art experiences. To accomplish this, we educate, in order to advance the public’s knowledge of and appreciation for the value of art as a source of beauty, inspiration, information, and expression. The vision of the Alexandria Museum of Art is to be the premier arts center of Central Louisiana, providing quality programming, exhibitions, and events, as well as outreach programs, taking a collaborative approach to meet the educational and cultural needs of our community.

The Alexandria Museum of Art opened in October 1977 as the public organ of the Central Louisiana Art Association, which had existed since 1938. Since its inception, the Museum was housed in a complex dominated by the historic Rapides Bank Building, c. 1898, a National Register structure. In October 1995, the Museum Trustees undertook a new campaign titled “Jewel on the Red.” The goal of the campaign was to raise $6 million dollars for the construction of a new museum and a renovation of the historic bank and $2 million dollars for an operating endowment. In 1998, the Alexandria Museum of Art expanded and constructed its grand foyer and offices as an annex to the Rapides Bank Building. In 1999, the Alexandria Museum of Art was honored at an Outstanding Arts Organization in the Governor’s Arts Awards. In 2006, the Museum merged into a new entity, the Alexandria Museum Association, owned by the Louisiana State University at Alexandria (LSUA) Foundation. This action leveraged the assets and resources of both institutions in order to provide the most benefit to the community. This new LSUA Foundation entity entered into a collaborative agreement with the LSU Board of Supervisors (LSUA) to continue operations of the Alexandria Museum of Art.

The Alexandria Museum of Art entices visitors of diverse tastes with rotating exhibitions of art from our permanent collection, traveling exhibitions from around the world, and exceptional contemporary artists. Educational and community programs are implemented to compliment exhibitions. In an effort to become self-sufficient and sustainable, the Alexandria Museum of Art endeavors to establish programming that is collaborative in nature, beneficial to the community, and advances our mission.

The Alexandria Museum of Art also serves as a downtown campus for LSUA classes. It is hast hosted multidisciplinary community events, including concerts, lectures, yoga classes, Second Saturday Markets, and Museum Afterhours. These events support all art forms – film, literature, poetry, songwriting, and visual arts. The community-centered approach adopted by the Museum proceeds from its mission; the Alexandria Museum of Art desires to be the model of a learning and enrichment facility that reflects and exhibits the essence of the community and region that created it.

The Alexandria Museum of Art is supported in part by a grant from the Louisiana Division of the Arts, Office of Cultural Development, Department of Culture, Recreation & Tourism, in cooperation with the Louisiana State Arts Council, and the National Endowment for the Arts, a Federal agency.

About Us

The Mission of the Alexandria Museum of art is to foster a culturally rich community by engaging, enlightening and inspiring individuals through innovative art experiences.